MarahPoint Breeze

This three-track EP from Marah's forthcoming Kids in Philly is a virtual Springsteen tribute. Point Breeze is full of the same scratchy East coast greasy soul guitar, rich imagery and convoluted rhymes as Bruce's E Street Shuffle. "Why Independent Record Stores Fail," a non-LP track, was written for the movie version of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity (which reportedly features Bruce in a cameo during a dream sequence), but is not included in the flick. It's a simple acoustic-guitar-and-vocals number about a guy working at a record store who's too shy to speak to a female customer. Dave Bielanko's gruff vocal make it sound like a long lost Greetings From Asbury Park outtake. The other non-LP track is a cover of "Streets of Philadelphia" sped up and adorned with banjo. The jaunty tempo provides a startling contrast to the sombre lyrics. It's anything but a piss take version and the contrast is vaguely unsettling and reassuring at the same time. A dandy little taste of a great LP.
(Artemis)